Osogbo is Osun capital, not Ede

SIR: On August 11, a news story in The Punch newspaper was titled ‘Don’t pit us against Osogbo people, Ede warns Aregbesola’. It contained a press conference held at the palace of Timi of Ede where an indigent group alleged that Ede’s land was being annexed to Osogbo. The group, Federation Council of Ede Descendants Union, through its leader, Chief Moshood Adeleke, alleged that Governor Rauf Aregbesola directed the General Manager of the Osun State Capital Development Authority to rename all government establishments, settlements and communities within the capital territory as belonging to Osogbo.

To begin with, there is no way any government establishment can be said to belong to Osogbo. If it belongs to government, then, it cannot belong to Osogbo. It is one thing for someone to make a claim, it is another matter for a respected newspaper to slam it on its pages. Happily, other newspapers, including The Nation, did not report it from this adversarial and malicious angle.

This editorial gaffe notwithstanding, there has been dispute over boundary between Osogbo and Ede, dating back to the precolonial era. When Osun was created in 1991, this rivalry was renewed when Osogbo became the capital.

The dispute was accentuated when the then governor, now Senator Isiaka Adeleke, who is from Ede, built the state secretariat and the office of the governor in Abeere. This small community is one of the disputed land with Osogbo but which has acquired Ede identity. This gesture gave the people of Ede the false notion that since the seat of government is on Ede land, therefore, Ede is the de facto capital of Osun and should be referred to as being in Ede. They want the seat of government to be referred to as being in Ede and not Osogbo.

However, this is a constitutional matter. Osogbo is the capital of Osun, it cannot be taken to Ede by a sleight of hand.

Then came the state capital development authority which by law designated an area as capital territory. This area covers parts of eight Local Governments of Osogbo, Olorunda, Boripe, Ifelodun, Obokun, Atakumosa West, Ede North and Egbedore.

Apart from the secretariat, other government institutions or government supported projects like Omoluabi Garment Factory have been established in the Ede part of the Capital Territory but the concern of some atavistic elements in Ede is the location name.

For crying out loud, these elements should be reined in by the Timi of Ede who is a very peaceful man and certainly cannot give his royal blessing to the false accusation against Governor Aregbesola. Our royal father should tell these agitators to stop contending with the law. The state capital is Osogbo and eight local governments are in the capital territory, not Ede alone. The others are happy and praying that development projects will be sited in their land.

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The Ede agitators should desist from their selfish pursuit and allow peace to continue to reign among the people of Osogbo and Ede together with other peace loving people of State of Osun.

ORACLE

I dont know what they want to gin from these. For example, in Lagos state, from Ojodu Berger to Otedola Bridge through otunba jobi fele road to Fella shrine to first gate Agidingbi, Ikeja, all these Areas are called OJODU loacal government.
Lagos state secretariat, to 7UP to ojota total to oregun to Opebi all in Ikeja are called Onigbongbo LGA.
Even,, Kosofe, Ogudu, ikosi, mile12, Isheri Magodo, … are under kosofe LGA. Has these changed the ownership of these land and community?
if you go to Island, mainland, Ojo area is still the same.
Ede people should just focus on how to develop their town and stop fighting unnecessarily.